stranger: so, where are you from?
me: texas
stranger: (obviously disappointed) oh...but where are you REALLY from?
i am still amazed at how many times i get asked that question. and even more amazed at how many times strangers show obvious disappointment that their expectations are not met when i do not answer that i'm from china.
well, i have made a resolution. i certainly don't want to disappoint my audience. if they want a show, then a show they will get:
stranger: so, where are you from?
me: oh i'm from a town called xing-pao. it's a small little farming village in the southern parts of china. my family has lived there for generations and most of my family is still there. we grow rice and i go back there in the summer to work on the rice fields. and actually, i'm going back this summer to get married - i'm betrothed to the son of the head of the village.
stranger: (obviously pleased) wow! that's so neat!
me: yeah, isn't it?
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